SUSTAINABLE STYLE: Species by the Thousands Shoes

Keds-style shoes might be easy to come by pretty much anywhere, but how often do you find designs this cute, and this original, that are also eco-friendly? Brooklyn design duo, Species by the Thousands, has created a whole new eco-freaky spin on Keds with their hand-painted canvas slip-ons featuring silhouetted critters and funky flora and fauna. Designers Erica Bradbury and Michele Colomer have a pretty dark sense of humor, too, with their quirky tag line, “How do crazy people go through the forest? They take the psycho path.” If you are obsessed with finding and sporting the latest in edgy green fashion, look no further, as Species by the Thousands will be presenting their designs at the Project Earth Day Eco-Fashion Show here in NYC on April 24th (that’s tomorrow kids!) Inhabitat’s Sustainable Style team is really looking forward to this parade of exotic species on the runway – as sustainable style gets a bit wild for the crowd.

Species by the Thousands designers, Bradbury and Colomer, have combined their artistic talents in drawing, painting, and design to create a super-cute assortment of one-of-a-kind art objects and fashion curios. Hand-painted designs of plants, animals, friends, lovers, monsters, minerals, goblins, ghosts, and flowers are all incorporated into their totally in-demand footwear collection as a sweet display of their love for the environment. Designs for both the body and the home are made from sustainable materials such as vintage and reclaimed trinkets, metals, and organic and recycled fibers. We love, love, love these hand-painted slip on shoes with their vintage fabric linings. Also rather groovy are the hand-painted basswood plaques made from ‘responsibly harvested wood’ – in a choice of imagery and themes.